Consistency is key for the Devils moving forward, but they also want to show more mental toughness.

NEWARK -- The Devils ended the first half of the season the opposite of the way they started it, losing three straight to skid to the bye week and the NHL All-Star Break. It wasn’t what was expected of a team that snapped a five-year playoff drought last season, but it’s pointless to rehash the old narrative and look back on the summer.

The only thing New Jersey can do now is look ahead. Here are five things the Devils would like to see moving forward into the second half of the 2018-19 season.

A heavier game

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) and New Jersey Devils left wing Taylor Hall (9) look for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Nov. 9, 2018, in Toronto.

Frank Gunn, AP

This is a team built for speed and skill and one of those skills isn’t a right hook. But that doesn’t mean the Devils can’t be more aggressive in certain areas of the ice. They can finish their checks, be harder on pucks and throw a hit instead of trying to finesse their way through games as they have at times.

“For sure,” coach John Hynes said. “We have to be grittier along the wall and with our board play in the corners and along the wall, be grittier and harder at the net-front and with 50-50 puck battles.”

When knocked off their game and forced to dump the puck in and chase it, the Devils have wilted instead of making the necessary adjustments.

“When we’ve really seen them struggle this year, it’s when there are teams that drag you into competitive battles we’ve had too many passengers. You can be speedy and you can be quick and you can have skill but when it comes time to battle in the hard areas of the game, we don’t have enough consistency in that area.”

Mental toughness

New Jersey Devils head coach John Hynes watches play during the first period against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center.

Kevin Hoffman, Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

Road play has been horrendous and there’s no sugarcoating that. New Jersey has only five road wins this season. The 17 losses and three overtime/shootout losses have ranged from blowouts in Tampa to one-goal losses in Dallas. The Devils haven’t been able to steal any road games and they often spiral early in trips.

Luckily, they only have two trips with three or more games left on the schedule. The toughest part of the road slate is behind them. But in order to win on the road, the Devils need to display more mental toughness.

“There is a hardness that you have to have from your team,” Hynes said. “A mental toughness, a hardness that is needed to play in those environments in the first half. We didn’t have it. We need to build it more.”

The Devils have lacked the mental fortitude needed to win in hostile buildings.

“When you look at our team, we do lots of good things,” Hynes said. “But when push comes to shove, we get shoved.”

Contributions from the bottom six

Jan 17, 2019; Uniondale, NY, USA; New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal (13) and New Jersey Devils left wing Blake Pietila (56) battle for the puck during the third period at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

Last season, the Devils relied heavily on Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri and Nico Hischier to generate offense. The team is just as top-heavy this season, with the members of the top line having the three highest point totals on the team.

New Jersey was counting on John Quenneville to be ready to produce offensively in the NHL every day and Pavel Zacha to take a big step forward in his offensive playmaking. Instead, Zacha is focusing on using his shot more and Quenneville has been back and forth from Binghamton of the American Hockey League all season.

Brett Seney and Brian Boyle have been bright spots on the fourth line and Drew Stafford has come in and played well recently. Losing Joey Anderson hurt but what has hurt the Devils here the most is the lack of organizational depth.

Hynes has liked what he’s seen from forwards Nathan Bastian and Kevin Rooney over the last week, saying Bastian made a big impact on the game against Anaheim. But can they make an impact nightly?

Consistent power play

Oct 18, 2018; Newark, NJ, USA; New Jersey Devils defenseman Will Butcher (8) controls the puck against the Colorado Avalanche during the second period at Prudential Center.

Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

The Devils had two extra-man opportunities to crack Anaheim’s John Gibson on Saturday but they failed to do so. They had a big power play at the end of the game but the Ducks’ goalie almost singlehandedly killed it off and New Jersey ran out of time in a 3-2 loss.

Putting aside the net-front issues the Devils have had in recent games, it magnified the issues the team has had on the power play all season.

“It’s inconsistent,” Hynes said. “I think it’s come up big for us at times but I think it’s been very inconsistent. It’s something we’ll take a look at as coaches and see if we can become more consistent and be much more attacking than we have been.”

Consistency overall

December 6, 2018; Los Angeles, CA, USA; New Jersey Devils defenseman Andy Greene (6) moves the puck against the Los Angeles Kings during the second period at Staples Center.

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Win one, lose three. Win three, lose three. The inability to put together a consistent winning streak has been the downfall of the team all season. And they haven’t been able to put together that streak because of the inconsistencies in their game on a nightly basis.

The Devils always seem to take one step forward only to take three big steps backward.

“I think it’s pretty much that we have to play better and more consistent,” captain Andy Greene said. “We can’t have a good game here and then two games where it turns the other way. It’s getting our game to a place where we know what we’re getting every single night.”

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